title: A double-blind trial of oral immunotherapy for Artemisia pollen asthma with evaluation of bronchial response to the pollen allergen and serum-specific IgE antibody.
abstract: Eighteen asymptomatic Artemisia pollen asthma patients with normal pulmonary function were selected for a double-blind trial of oral immunotherapy. Each patient had a positive skin test to Artemisia pollen extract and also a positive bronchial challenge response to the same extract. The patients were randomly assigned to active treatment or placebo group and received intensive oral administration of Artemisia pollen extract over a 50-day course. The nine patients who received the active treatment ingested a cumulative dose of 396,652 PNU and showed a significant decrease in serum-specific IgE antibodies (P less than .05) and a significant reduction in bronchial sensitivity to the same extract (P less than .01). The changes in these two variables correlated well (r = .8787, P less than .01). The nine patients who received the placebo showed no significant changes in serum-specific IgE or bronchial sensitivity to Artemisia pollen extract. Follow-up of two cases with the same extract showed that the reductions in serum-specific IgE as well as bronchial sensitivity induced by oral immunotherapy were maintained for 3 months.
authors.affiliation: Department of Allergy, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences.
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Leng
authors.forename: Y X
authors.initials: YX
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.forename: S T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Ye
authors.forename: S Q
authors.initials: SQ
authors.lastname: Duan
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D001249:Asthma / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D001985:Bronchial Provocation Tests; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005541:Forced Expiratory Volume; D006801:Humans; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000276:immunology*; D007167:Immunotherapy; D008297:Male; D011058:Pollen / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D007073:Immunoglobulin E